August

The first week of August was the Wasatch County Fair so we tried to participate in some of the activities associated with that.  The pool was open for a couple of hours one afternoon for free so I took the kids to that.  Ivy is a little fish and loves the water and the other kids had fun doing the money drop (they divided the kids into age groups, dropped coins in the water, and the kids got to dive for them).  It was crowded but didn't seem to bother anyone.  The older kids are independent in the water (Brynn in a life jacket) so it was easy for me to just keep an eye on Ivy in the kiddie area and the pool's not that big anyway so I always knew where everyone was.

Brynn learned quickly not to leave her make-up sitting out where a certain little sister could find it and go to town with it.

We also made it to the outdoor movie.  Justin and the kids had so much fun last year that Ivy and I even stayed this year.  The movie was Moana.  I had never seen it but the kids had which was a good thing because it is not a quiet environment.  Super fun, though, especially with the treats we had picked up at the store on our way over.

Stockton did the Cubscout day camp in July but his first real scouting began in August.  I made sure he had a shirt this time and I even took the time to sew those patches on.  He loves scouts and has Justin as an awesome scouting example.  I just think he looks so cute and handsome in his scouting uniform.

Here's a quirky peek into our life: Justin plucks my eyebrows, has been doing this for years.  One day he was doing it and the kids wanted in on the action so they each got a try.  They did not like it!

 Another random piece of information: Justin also cuts all fingernail and toenails and cleans ears (I take care of my own nails and ears, of course).   

We went school shopping at the Park City outlets with my mom.  We had fun and the kids were happy with their new clothes.  When they came home and tried them all on for dad (tradition), we realized some of Molly's shirts were too big so back we went to exchange them.  Justin was at a scout camp that weekend so I decided to take the kids into old Park City to pick out a treat at the chocolate factory and take a stroll down Main Street.  We also stepped into the Family History Center and watched one of the newer Meet the Mormon videos.

It was also Cash's official birthday that day (Aug. 17th) and the chocolate factory had doggie bones so we picked one of those up and the kids were excited to bring it home to Cash.  They love him. I am still on the fence about having a dog.  Sometimes I feel attached to him and then he'll do something mischievous and aggravating (like chewing up something) and I'm over it.

Summer days=more screen time, that's just a fact.  The rule I kept during the summer was that screens needed to be turned off at 9 am and not turned back on until chores were done.  Then they had to be completely turned off from 1-4.  They were still on the screens, though, sometimes all at once!

Stockton and Brynn were great all summer to make up games and play together so often times they wouldn't even ask for more screen time after 4.  Molly, on the other hand, is too old these days for her younger siblings' make believe games so she definitely knew when it was 4.  She likes Studio C and whatever Disney show she can find on Netflix (the equivalent to what was TGIF in our day).

At Stockton's first pack meeting he earned his bobcat patch and his "paws on the path" merit badge.  All of that was thanks to some awesome leaders.  Since the ward has been split, we haven't had another pack meeting, even though he keeps attending scouts.  I'm excited to see what he has earned in the two or three months since then.

Payton Western, Easton Anderson, Jackson Allen, Dylan Starks, Stockton

Molly was assigned to run a mile two different times over a weekend for soccer.  So we clocked it in the car and went out for a walk/bike ride/run.  She said it passed quicker than she thought it would have and I was proud of her for following through and doing it.

Summer always goes by so fast, this year was no exception.  Justin took off for a scout camp the weekend before school started but I didn't want to just sit at home without one last summer hurrah.  We had nothing on Friday so I decided to surprise the kids with a little day adventure.  I thought of a few different things...a pool, a new park, etc., but I didn't really want to deal with crowds.  Then I thought about a hike but without Justin there was no way I was going to pack Ivy in the backpack.  So I tried to find a spot in the mountains where I wouldn't have to carry Ivy around but that would be fun for everyone else.  I settled on a drive up Mirror Lake Highway (by itself is gorgeous) and we ended up at a little lake called Fehr Lake.  I had grabbed a couple of subway sandwiches and some snacks and we ate lunch when we got there.

I picked this particular spot because it was a short walk/hike down to the lake.  It said about 1/2 mile and I figured we could handle that, even if Ivy needed to be carried.  It was a beautiful hike but I wondered if we would actually make it to a lake because I wasn't seeing any water anywhere.  We persisted and made it to a spot where you could see the lake through the trees.  Such a pretty sight!  And Ivy insisted on walking the whole time in her tutu and was delighted to do that.

Our first glimpse of the lake-so pretty

We spent some time throwing rocks in the lake, taking our socks and shoes off and wading, and Molly and Stockton tried taking scenic pictures and pictures of each other.  There were not a lot of people there so it was nice to let the kids do whatever they wanted before we hiked back to the car.

We stopped a couple of different places on our way back.  One was a look-out and one was the Provo River Falls where we explored a little longer.

We had one last stop to make-at Hi-Mountain Drug in Kamas for milkshakes before heading home.  I was being extra motivated to have fun so I told the kids they could have a movie night and sleepover with me in my room since Justin was gone.  This was maybe too much-the movie (Harry Potter) was fine but then they would not get to sleep.  Emotions were high and everyone was over-tired.  Nevertheless, they all finally got to sleep (way too late) and slept fine all night but I probably won't volunteer for that again!

Ivy slept in her crib in her room-I'm not that crazy!

Here's a picture of Justin at his Scout camp.  They floated the Green River and played hide-and-go-seek at Goblin Valley.  He is made for scouting, the boys love him.  He was released from Assistant Scout Master and put in as the Young Men's 1st counselor so he is with the teachers now and enjoying that as well.  I am thankful for the sacrifices he makes to be involved with the boys and for the example of service he is to our kids.

Caleb Weeks, Jacob Busch, Aiden Cottrell, Isaac Pulley, Landon North, Chase Turman, Parker Webb, Justin, Jacob Steiner, Mason Riddle

Ivy likes it when Molly lays in her crib with her.  She likes it even more when she reads books to her.  She's probably nearing the age when she should be done with a crib but I am milking it while it lasts!  She is my baby, after all.

We took a short family bike ride down Little Sweden Road one evening.  It didn't go quite as planned...Molly's tire got flat and we had to improvise our way home.

Stockton has been wanting to play baseball more than just the rec program.  We found a 6-week traveling league this fall through the high school and had him try out for that.  The first game was the end of August, they played double-headers every Saturday (minus Labor Day) for 6 weeks, and held two practices a week.  He's never done something that he's had to commit so much time and effort to and it was hard at first for him to get used to going to the practices.  He would complain about going but he always loved it once he got there.  It maybe helped that Justin was talked into being the assistant coach.  He was always really excited about the games, although the first one was definitely a learning experience for both kids and parents.  Because they were double-headers, if you were the traveling team, you would play back to back with only a 15 minute break between games and each game would last 1 hour 45 minutes.  I was shocked that they would have 8-year-old boys play for that long!  The first game was brutal because it was in Salem and it was 95 degrees with no shade out there on the baseball field.  It was the first time most of those boys had played on a team like that and they played some teams that have been together for a couple of years and practice year round.  They learned a lot, made new friends, and I think that they overall had a lot of fun.  I know I had a lot of fun watching Stockton play and improving himself.  He still loves baseball so that's a good sign!

He did end up pitching every Saturday.  This tired him out quickly.  He has a good arm and can throw it fast but he prefers playing shortstop or 2nd base. I was proud of him when he got up there on the mound in the first inning of the first game and pitched some strike-outs.  A lot of balls too, but still, he did awesome.

Here is a little video clip of him through the fence.  The first pitch was a strike three-yay!-and the second was a ball with a runner on third.  He ran up to try to tag him out at home plate but didn't get him.  A good try anyway and shows a little bit of what he was learning out there.

He also played catcher that first game but he hated it so bad that he didn't have to do that again.  Whew!

This is a little trick that Brynn figured out.  If she turns her Elsa doll upside down and ties her legs three times, it looks like a torch.  I have no idea how she figured that out but I think it's funny that she did!  These are little things that I think I will forget and that makes me sad.

We got to go to Lagoon again for Justin's work party.  The kids love this activity and would hate for them to do something else.  Everyone got to do their favorites-Molly: Cannibal, Wicked, Colossus, Spider; Stockton: Wicked, Colossus, Wild Mouse; Brynn-Bombora.  Brynn was tall enough to ride the Bat this year and loved that one as well.  It looks like Ivy is going to turn out to be just as adventurous as her older siblings...she loved everything we put her on and hated getting off.  We also rode some of our other family favorites...the log flume and Tidal Wave...and some classics like Puff and the white roller coaster.  Such a fun night for our family!

Molly was such a good sport to ride some of the kiddie rides with Ivy.  She is getting too big for most of them!

The Bat!

log flume

Tidal Wave

 

Brynn talked Justin into riding one of her favorites...the Tilt-o-Whirl...I don't why he ever agreed because it makes him so, so sick.  I ended up driving home that night because he kept thinking he was going to throw up!

 I came back one night from dropping Stockton off at baseball to see Molly helping Brynn with her reading. I love catching these moments.  My kids are pretty good friends most of the time and I hope that they are always there to support each other.